Americans discover what the rest of the world has known for a hundred years: that electric trains are just plain better
I mean, diesel electric weren’t that terrible either, I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard the generator running while on one of those. Obviously full electric is better, but they must’ve been a really terrible implementation to begin with if they had all the downsides mentioned in the article.
I sometimes ride diesel-electric trains. It’s definitely noisier but it’s not super loud inside the carriages.
My country has some cheap CAF diesel stock that’s as noisy as a bus.
Then on the flip side we have the diesel electrics which are MUCH quieter, but you definitely feel the vibration when moving off
And finally the more uncommon full electrics which are better in every way… acceleration, noise, vibration, speed
Diesel-electric trains have the disadvantage of needing to carry their own fuel, making them heavier and increasing wear on the track. The engines need more maintenance as well, as they are more complicated.
Aren’t most diesel trains diesel-electric, except perhaps for bus-like “sprinter” units?
I’m not denying there’s downsides, but compared to cars the step from Diesel-electric to full electric isn’t that huge from an environment and experience perspective.
The rest of the SF Bay Area has fast electric trains, just this section doesn’t because a bunch of racists in the 60’s pulled out during the planning phase to maintain separation from the “urban” folks.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Bay_Area_Rapid_Transit